The term 'Yankee' (also 'Yank') has a number of possible meanings, but in almost all contexts, it refers to someone of
American origin or heritage. Within the
USA, its popular meaning has varied over time. Historically, the term usually refers to residents of
New England, as used by
Mark Twain in ''
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court''. During and after the
American Civil War, its popular meaning expanded to include any Northerner or resident of the Union, and included any resident of the Northeast (New England,
Mid-Atlantic, and upper
Great Lakes states). Over time, however, the term has since reverted to its 18th century geographic indication of New England, except when the speaker is from
the South. Outside the
USA, Yank or Yankee is the most common slang term for any American, whether from New England or not.
Origins of the word
The origins of the term are uncertain. In 1758 British General
James Wolfe referred to the New England soldiers under his command as Yankees: "I can afford you two companies of Yankees."
[1] The term as used by the British was thick with contempt, as shown by the cartoon from 1775 ridiculing Yankee soldiers.
[1] The "Yankee and Pennamite" war was a series of clashes over land titles in Pennsylvania, 1769, in which "Yankee" meant the Connecticut claimants.
Johnathan Hastings of
Cambridge,
Massachusetts was attributed around 1713 to regularly using the word as a superlative, generally in the sense of ''excellent''.
[3]
The Oxford English Dictionary states that one of the earliest theories on the word derivation is from the Cherokee word "eankke" for coward as applied to the residents of New England. Also, as the Northeastern Native American approximation of the words ''English'' and ''Anglais''.
[3] It has been rejected by some linguists.
[1]
The Oxford English Dictionary suggests the most plausible origin to be that it is derived from the
Dutch first names "Jan" and "Kees". "Jan" and "Kees" were common Dutch first names, and also common Dutch given names or nicknames. "Jan" means "John" and may have been used as a reference to the settlers of New-York (New-Amsterdam at the time) who were Dutch. The word Yankee in this sense would be used as a form of contempt, applied derisively to Dutch settlers in New England and New York.
[6] Another speculation suggests the Dutch form was ''Jan Kaas'', "John Cheese", from the prevalence of dairy-farming among the Dutch, but this seems far-fetched. More realistically, Michael Quinion and Patrick Hanks argue
[7]the term refers to the Dutch nickname and surname ''Janke'', anglicized to ''Yanke'' and "used as a nickname for a Dutch-speaking American in colonial times". By extension, according to their theory, the term grew to include non-Dutch American colonists as well.
Loyalist newspaper cartoon from Boston 1776 ridicules "Yankie Doodles"
militia who have encircled the city
One influence on the use of the term throughout the years has been the song
Yankee Doodle, which was popular at the time of the
American Revolutionary War (1775–1783). Though the British intended to insult the colonials with the song, following the
Battle of Concord, it was adopted by Americans as a proud retort and today is the
state song of
Connecticut.
An early use of the term outside the United States was in the creation of
Sam Slick, the "Yankee Clockmaker", in a column in a newspaper in
Halifax,
Nova Scotia Canada, in 1835. The character was a plain-talking American who served to poke fun at American and Nova Scotian customs of that era, while trying to urge the old-fashioned Canadians to be as clever and hard-working as the Yankees.
The "damned Yankee" usage dates from 1812.
[1] During and after the
American Civil War (1861–1865) Confederates popularized it as a derogatory term for their Northern enemies.
Yankee cultural history
The term Yankee now means residents of New England, of English ancestry, although that was not the original definition. (See origin of the term below). The Yankees diffused widely across the northern United States, leaving their imprint in New York, the upper Midwest, and places as far away as Seattle, San Francisco and Honolulu.
[9] Yankees typically lived in villages (rather than separate farms), which fostered local democracy in town meetings; stimulated mutual oversight of moral behavior and emphasized civic virtue. From New England seaports like Boston, Salem, Providence and New London, the Yankees built an international trade, stretching to China by 1800. Much of the merchant profits were reinvested in the textile and machine tools industries.
Education was always a high priority as typified by
Harvard College (1636),
Boston Latin School (1635) and
Yale College (1701), as well as early advanced schools of law, medicine, theology and engineering. The Yankees pioneered the free public school and, under the leadership of
Horace Mann designed a system of public schools and teacher training colleges that formed the national model copied eventually by all the states. By the late 19th century Yankees were creating the first American universities, including Harvard and Yale. Prep schools such as St. Paul's, Phillips Andover, Phillips Exeter, Choate and Groton, continue to play a leading role in educating the wealthiest families.
In religion New England Yankees originally followed the
Puritan tradition as expressed in
Congregational churches, but after 1750 many became
Episcopalians,
Methodists,
Baptists or
Unitarians. The 17th century straight-laced moralism portrayed by novelist
Nathaniel Hawthorne faded in the 18th century. The
First Great Awakening (under
Jonathan Edwards) in the mid-18th century and the
Second Great Awakening in the early 19th century (under
Charles Grandison Finney) emphasized personal piety, revivals, and devotion to civic duty. Theologically
Arminianism replaced the original
Calvinism.
Horace Bushnell introduced the idea of Christian nurture, whereby children would be brought to religion without revivals.
After 1800 the Yankees (along with the Quakers) spearheaded most reform movements, including abolition, temperance, women's rights and women's education.
Emma Willard and
Mary Lyons pioneered in the higher education of women, while Yankees comprised most of the reformers who went South during
Reconstruction in the 1860s to educate the Freedmen.
Politically, the Yankees, who dominated New England, much of upstate New York, and much of the upper Midwest, were the strongest supporters of the new Republican party in the 1860s. This was especially true for the
Congregationalists and
Presbyterians among them and (after 1860), the
Methodists. A study of 65 predominantly Yankee counties showed they voted only 40% for the Whigs in 1848 and 1852, but became 61–65% Republican in presidential elections of 1856 through 1864.
[10]
The
Ivy League universities and "
Little Ivies" liberal arts colleges, particularly Harvard and Yale, remained bastions of old Yankee culture until well after World War II.
Calvin Coolidge was a striking example of the Yankee type. Coolidge moved from rural Vermont to urban Massachusetts, and was educated at
Amherst College. Yet his flint-faced unprepossessing ways and terse rural speech proved politically attractive: "That Yankee twang will be worth a hundred thousand votes", explained one Republican leader.
[11] Coolidge's laconic ways and dry humor was characteristic of stereotypical rural "Yankee humor" at the turn of the twentieth century.
[12]
The fictional character
Thurston Howell III of
Gilligan's Island, a graduate of
Harvard University, typifies the old Yankee elite in a comical way.
In the 21st century the systematic Yankee ways had permeated the entire society through education. Although many observers from the 1880s onward predicted that Yankee politicians would be no match for new generations of ethnic politicians, the presence of Yankees at the top tier of politics in the 21st century was typified by Presidents
George H. W. Bush, Democratic National Chairman
Howard Dean and Democratic presidential nominee Senator
John Forbes Kerry, scion of the old colonial Forbes family.
Contemporary uses
In the United States
Within the United States, the term ''Yankee'' can have many different contextually and geographically-dependent meanings.
Traditionally ''Yankee'' was most often used to refer to a New Englander (in which case it may suggest Puritanism and thrifty values), but today refers to anyone coming from a state north of the
Mason-Dixon line, with a specific focus still on
New England. However, within New England itself, the term refers more specifically to old-stock New Englanders of English descent. The term
WASP, in use since the 1960s, refers by definition to all Protestants of English ancestry, including Yankees and Southerners, though its meaning is often extended to refer to any Protestant white American.
The term "
Swamp Yankee" is used in rural
Rhode Island, eastern
Connecticut, and southeastern
Massachusetts to refer to Protestant farmers of moderate means and their descendants (as opposed to upper-class Yankees).
[13] Scholars note that the famous Yankee "twang" survives mainly in the hill towns of interior New England.
[14] The most characteristic Yankee food was the pie; Yankee author
Harriet Beecher Stowe in her novel ''Oldtown Folks'' celebrated the social traditions surrounding the Yankee pie.
In the
American South, the term is sometimes used as a derisive term for Northerners, especially those who have migrated to the South. As some Southerners put it, "A Yankee is a Northerner, and a Damnyankee [written and pronounced as one word] is a Northerner who moves (or comes) South". Southerners, by and large, resent being labeled "yankee" when travelling abroad.
A humorous
aphorism attributed to
E.B. White summarizes these distinctions:
::''To foreigners, a Yankee is an American.''
::''To Americans, a Yankee is a Northerner.''
::''To Northerners, a Yankee is an Easterner.''
::''To Easterners, a Yankee is a New Englander.''
::''To New Englanders, a Yankee is a Vermonter.''
::''And in Vermont, a Yankee is somebody who eats pie for breakfast.''
Another variant of the aphorism replace the last definition with "an outhouse". There are several other
folk and
humorous etymologies for the term.
One of
Mark Twain's most famous novels, ''
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court'' popularized the word as a nickname for residents of Connecticut.
It is also the official team nickname of a
Major League Baseball franchise, the
New York Yankees.
In other English-speaking countries
In English-speaking countries outside the United States, especially in
Australia,
Canada,
Ireland,
New Zealand and the
United Kingdom, Yankee, almost universally shortened to ''Yank'', is used as a derogatory, playful or referential
colloquial term for all Americans.
In certain Commonwealth countries, notably the
United Kingdom,
Canada,
Australia and
New Zealand, "Yank" has been in common use since at least
World War II, when millions of Americans were stationed in the UK and Australia. Depending on the country, "Yankee" may be considered mildly derogatory.
The term has evolved, through the use of
rhyming slang, to the word "seppo"
[15] (Yankee - Yank - Septic Tank - Septic - Seppo) in Australia.
[2]
Recent usage in Europe indicates that Australian tourists have been called "New Yanks."
[16]
In other parts of the world
In some parts of the world, particularly in
Latin American countries, and in
East Asia, ''yankee'' or ''yanqui'' is used sometimes as an insult politically associated with
anti-Americanism and used in expressions such as "
Yankee go home" or "we struggle against the yanqui, enemy of humanity" (words from the
Sandinista anthem).
In
Argentina and
Uruguay, however, the term is referred to as someone who is from the US and hardly ever derogatory.
In the late 19th century the Japanese were called "the Yankees of the East" in praise of their industriousness and drive to modernization.
[17]
In 21st century
Japan, the term ''Yankī'' is used to refer to a type of delinquent youth
[18] who often sports brightly bleached hair. Etymology of the word is disputed, although one of the theories suggest the word comes from the English word "yankee."
In
Finland, the word ''jenkki'' (yank) is commonly used to refer to any American, and ''Jenkkilä'' (Yankeeland) refers to the United States itself. It isn't considered very offensive or anti-American, but rather a
spoken language expression.
[19]
See also
★
Swamp Yankee
★
Yankee Doodle
★
Yankee Doodle Dandy
★
Jonkheer
References
1. Mathews (1951) p 1896
2. Mathews (1951) p 1896
3. "yankee, n and a" OED
4. "yankee, n and a" OED
5. Mathews (1951) p 1896
6. "yankee, n and a" OED
7. see [1])
8. Mathews (1951) p 1896
9. Mathews (1909), Holbrook (1950)
10. Kleppner p 55
11. William Allen White, ''A Puritan in Babylon: The Story of Calvin Coolidge'' (1938) p. 122.
12. Arthur George Crandall,"New England Joke Lore: The Tonic of Yankee Humor", (F.A. Davis Company, 1922).
13. Ruth Schell, "Swamp Yankee", ''American Speech'', 1963, Volume 38, No.2 , pg. 121–123. accessed through JSTOR
14. Fisher, ''Albion's Seed'' p 62; Edward Eggleston, ''The Transit of Civilization from England to America in the Seventeenth Century.'' (1901) p. 110; Fleser (1962)
15. Ndou ready for cocky Seppo Grantlee Kieza
16. New Yanks and jafas: why no one likes Aussies anymore Ben Groundwater
17. William Eleroy Curtis, ''The Yankees of the East, Sketches of Modern Japan.'' (New York: 1896).
18. Daijirin dictionary, Yahoo! Dictionary
19. . See comments on H-South by Seppo K J Tamminen at [3]
Further reading
★ Beals, Carleton; ''Our Yankee Heritage: New England's Contribution to American Civilization''
(1955) online
★ Conforti, Joseph A. ''Imagining New England: Explorations of Regional Identity from the Pilgrims to the Mid-Twentieth Century''
(2001) online
★ Bushman, Richard L. ''From Puritan to Yankee: Character and the Social Order in Connecticut, 1690–1765'' (1967)
★ Ellis, David M. "The Yankee Invasion of New York 1783–1850". ''New York History'' (1951) 32:1–17.
★ Fischer, David Hackett. ''Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America'' (1989), Yankees comprise one of the four
★ Gjerde; Jon. ''The Minds of the West: Ethnocultural Evolution in the Rural Middle West, 1830–1917''
(1999) online
★ Gray; Susan E. ''The Yankee West: Community Life on the Michigan Frontier''
(1996) online
★ Oscar Handlin, "Yankees", in ''Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups,'' ed. by Stephan Thernstrom, (1980) pp 1028–1030.
★ Hill, Ralph Nading. ''Yankee Kingdom: Vermont and New Hampshire.''
(1960).
★ Holbrook, Stewart H. ''Yankee Exodus: An Account of Migration from New England'' (1950)
★ Holbrook, Stewart H.; ''Yankee Loggers: A Recollection of Woodsmen, Cooks, and River Drivers'' (1961)
★ Hudson, John C. "Yankeeland in the Middle West", '' Journal of Geography'' 85 (Sept 1986)
★
Jensen, Richard. "Yankees" in ''Encyclopedia of Chicago'' (2005).
★ Kleppner; Paul. ''The Third Electoral System 1853–1892: Parties, Voters, and Political Cultures'' University of North Carolina Press. 1979, on Yankee voting behavior
★ Knights, Peter R.; ''Yankee Destinies: The Lives of Ordinary Nineteenth-Century Bostonians''
(1991) online
★ Mathews, Lois K. ''The Expansion of New England'' (1909).
★
Mencken, H. L. The American Language (1919, 1921)
★ Piersen, William Dillon. ''Black Yankees: The Development of an Afro-American Subculture in Eighteenth-Century New England'' (1988)
★ Power, Richard Lyle. ''Planting Corn Belt Culture'' (1953), on Indiana
★ Rose, Gregory. "Yankees/Yorkers", in Richard Sisson ed, ''The American Midwest: An Interpretive Encyclopedia'' (2006) 193–95, 714–5, 1094, 1194,
★ Sedgwick, Ellery; ''The Atlantic Monthly, 1857–1909: Yankee Humanism at High Tide and Ebb''
(1994) online
★ Smith, Bradford. ''Yankees in Paradise: The New England Impact on Hawaii'' (1956)
★ Taylor, William R. ''Cavalier and Yankee: The Old South and American National Character'' (1979)
★ WPA. ''Massachusetts: A Guide to Its Places and People.'' Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration of Massachusetts (1937).
Linguistic
★ Butsee H. Logemay, "The Etymology of 'Yankee'", ''Studies in English Philology in Honor of Frederick Klaeber'', (1929) pp 403–13.
★ Fleser, Arthur F. "Coolidge's Delivery: Everybody Liked It." ''Southern Speech Journal'' 1966 32(2): 98–104. Issn: 0038-4585
★ Harold Davis. "On the Origin of Yankee Doodle", ''American Speech,'' Vol. 13, No. 2 (Apr., 1938), pp. 93–96 in JSTOR
★ Kretzschmar, William A. ''Handbook of the Linguistic Atlas of the Middle and South Atlantic States'' (1994)
★ Lemay, J. A. Leo "The American Origins of Yankee Doodle", ''William and Mary Quarterly'' 33 (Jan 1976) 435–64
★ Mathews, Mitford M. ''A Dictionary of Americanisms on Historical Principles'' (1951) pp 1896 ff for elaborate detail
★ Ruth Schell, "Swamp Yankee", ''American Speech'', 1963, Volume 38, No.2 (The
American Dialect Society, Published by Duke University Press ), pg. 121–123. accessed through
JSTOR
★ Oscar G. Sonneck. ''Report on "the Star-Spangled Banner" "Hail Columbia" "America" "Yankee Doodle"'' (1909)
pp 83ff online
★ Stollznow, Karen. 2006. "Key Words in the Discourse of Discrimination: A Semantic Analysis. PhD Dissertation: University of New England., Chapter 5.
External links
★
Online Etymology Dictionary
★
American Heritage Dictionary
★
Wordorigins.org
★
Word of the Day
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